For love and life; vol. 2 of 2Oliphant, Mrs. (Margaret)
General
For love and life; vol. 2 of 2
Oliphant, Mrs. (Margaret)
Fiction
When the pause for refreshments was over, Mr. Tottenham led Her Grace
back to her place, and the entertainment recommenced. The second part
was simply music. Mr. Watson gave his solo on the cornet, and another
gentleman of the establishment accompanied one of the young ladies on
the violin, and then they sang a number of part songs, which was the
best part of the programme. The excitement being partially over, the
music was much better attended to than the Trial Scene from Pickwick;
and all the fine people, used to hear Joachim play, or Patti sing,
listened with much gracious restraint of their feelings. It had been
intended at first that the guests and the _employés_ should sup
together, Mr. Robinson offering his arm to Lady Mary, and so on. But at
the last moment this arrangement had been altered, and the visitors had
wine and cake, and sandwiches and jellies in one room, while the
establishment sat down to a splendid table in another, and ate and
drank, and made speeches and gave toasts to their hearts’ content,
undisturbed by any inspection. What a place it was! The customers went
all over it, conducted by Mr. Tottenham and his assistants through the
endless warehouses, and through the domestic portion of the huge house,
while the young ladies and gentlemen of Tottenham’s were at supper. The
visitors went to the library, and to the sitting-rooms, and even to the
room which was used as a chapel, and which was full of rough wooden
chairs, like those in a French country church, and decorated with
flowers. This curious adjunct to the shop stood open, with faint lights
burning, and the spring flowers shedding faint odours.
“I did not know you had been so High Church, Mr. Tottenham,” said the
Duchess. “I was not prepared for this.”
“Oh, this is Saint Gussy’s chapel,” cried Phil, who was too much excited
to be kept silent. “We all call it Saint Gussy’s. There is service every
day, and it is she who puts up the flowers. Ah, ah!”
Phil stopped suddenly, persuaded thereto by a pressure on the arm, and
saw Edgar standing by him in the crowd. There were so many, and they
were all crowding so close upon each other, that his exclamation was
not noticed. Edgar had been conjoining to the other business which
detained him in town a great deal of work about the entertainment, and
he had appeared with the other guests in the evening, but had been met
by Lady Augusta with such a face of terror, and hurried anxious
greeting, that he had withdrawn himself from the assembly, feeling his
own heart beat rather thick and fast at the thought, perhaps, of meeting
Gussy without warning in the midst of this crowd. He had kept himself in
the background all the evening, and now he stopped Phil, to send a
message to his father.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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